Stretch wrap may be applied by an automatic or semi-automatic machine which includes stretch rollers to pre-stretch the film before it is wrapped around a package. Alternatively the stretch wrap may be applied manually by applying the film from a roll supported on a simple hand-held mandrel. The present application has particular application to this latter category of stretch wrap material, and also to film for use on machines in which the amount of stretch prior to wrapping is low or zero.
EP-A-0531021 describes a process for producing a stretch wrap plastic film in which the film is “cold stretched” at ambient temperatures to thereby plastically and elastically stretch the film to cold orient it. The cold oriented film is then allowed to relax to recover substantially its elastic deformation before being formed into a roll. This arrangement provides a film wrap which is substantially as economical, and may be more economical, in film usage when applied by a hand wrapping device than other stretch wrapping films are when applied by automatic and semi-automatic machinery including power pre-stretching devices. The process described in this patent specification has been commercially successful but, in practice, it has not been possible to achieve consistently as high a stretch ratio as 1:4 suggested in the patent specification without experiencing difficulties due to film breakage.